Ancient Origin
by Serena's Eevee
Summary: - I'm working on a good summary -(One chapter per week on sunday)
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

 **/ Prologue /**

* * *

 _In a time, where Pokéballs didn't exist and humans' knowledge of Pokémon was nothing more than just a few thoughts, there existed a power that was strong beyond imagination on the planet. It was a power that could've solved everything, or destroy it all the same, therefore it would have probably be called the ultimate power. However, such a power had its price and not every creature could use it, yet there had been enough to be believe that they were the chosen ones._

 _With the bearer of this power standing above everyone else, it was easy to think that it shouldn't get into the wrong hands. Unfortunately, this worry soon changed into fear by the ones, who sensed the danger, or were attracted by it, because as long as you didn't own this power, your future wasn't certain._

 _With humans' inability to sense the radiating energy, they were subject to the happenings around them._

 _Only a selected number of creatures were eventually strong enough to approach the energy source without being overwhelmed by its presence. It didn't take long until the first fights broke out and soon, a massacre occurred that let everyone suffer, even those who didn't want to exploit the power._

 _For a long time, it seemed that the never-ending war would only end with everyone's death._

 _In the end, it was a coincidence or even the will of earth that might have changed the outcome._

 _Due to a natural disaster, the energy source broke at several places and some parts were shot away to different locations, where they were absorbed by plants and in some cases, living individuals._

 _In one of two important cases, the energy hit a group of humans, which leaded to a stronger resistance of them towards the remaining energy source. Specifically, it also increased their strength, speed and even reflexes to a point, where they were able to confront the larger creatures on their own._

 _Seeing it as their duty to finish this dark chapter, the group of humans approached the weakened energy source in order to seal it forever. Thanks to their newly gained strength, humans confronted the fighting creatures and thanks to the only creature, that had been exposed to the energy as well, they fought back the creatures that would eventually been known as legendaries._

 _With the war ended for the time being, the human group had to deal with the energy source that seemingly repaired itself. The natural disaster that caused the damage of the source also served as the possibility to lock the power away that depraved everyone that knew about it._

 _Using the earth's gigantic powers, the energy source was hidden at a place, where it couldn't return to its full power and not being found. Kept as a secret, the entrance to the place was covered by a temple and guarded by the humans._

 _Slowly but surely, the world turned back to normal and the human race started to live together with the creatures, they would later call Pokémon._

 _Everything seemed to be great, but unfortunately, it wasn't everything._

 _The humans, that had been exposed to the energy and used it to fight and protect, were killed from within when their life energy seemed to end abruptly. One by one, they paid the high price that nobody knew to this point and the legendary creature, that helped them, could only look on how the saviors lost their lives._

 _The knowledge of the catastrophe, that shouldn't have been forgotten, got lost …, but not completely._

* * *

 **/ Chapter 1: It starts as a whisper in the wind /**

* * *

"Wow, that was an incredible story," said Ash with amazement, sitting on the wooden ground in a cross-legged position and leaning backwards on his arms.

"To me it sounded more like a fairy tale than a legend," explained Serena, a little bored. Within her lap, Fennekin had listened to the story as well and the fox agreed with her trainer by exclaiming a loud 'Fen'.

"I find it sad that all those humans died …," said Bonnie sadly.

"It was the price for using this forbidden power, no matter if it was for the good or for the bad."

Those words came from an old man, who kneeled in front of Ash's group and put his hands on his thighs. His long hair had become white over the years and his face spotted several wrinkles, but the man's eyes were as attentive as ever and he surveyed the group of kids in front of him, which gave the impression that his mind hadn't become old.

"In the end, it's still a myth, right? It's not scientifically verifiable that such a power could even exist," told Clemont the rest of his group, adjusting his glasses.

"Oh, does this mean that this story never happened," asked Bonnie, slightly disappointed.

"It's up to you to believe it or not," said the elderly.

"Anyway, I'm thankful that you let us stay in your house during this bad storm. To be honest, I don't know what would have happened if we didn't find you," said Serena, squeezing her hair to get rid of the last remaining water drops.

"Well, I couldn't just look on how a group of young trainers wanders through this forest, especially during a strong storm like this," said the man, who turned around to put some additional firewood into the chimney behind him.

The noises of the rain, cracking woods, spiting fire and howling wind went through the room.

"Can't you tell us more about this legend," asked Ash, being as curious as ever.

"Yeah, please!," said Bonnie hectically, folding her hands together to plead.

"There isn't much more that I can tell you about it," answered the host.

"I can't still imagine the power that the humans got from this source," wondered Ash aloud, thinking hard to imagine what kind of power it was. Just as clueless as Ash, Pikachu had a puzzled expression before its stomach started to rumble quietly.

"Are you hungry," asked Serena before she motioned to Pikachu to wait until she took her little basket with Pofflés out of her backpack. After she gave one to the yellow mouse, Serena also gave her Fennekin one as well and of course, the Pokémon loved them.

"It's easier to imagine than you might expect," said the elderly. "I'm sure you know the myth of Hercules and his unmatched strength. It's similar to the strength of those humans, although they might have been even stronger."

Clemont seemed not very convinced.

"Really? That sounds incredible," exclaimed Ash with clenched fists. " … Oh … you mentioned legendary creatures and later used the word Pokémon. Does this mean that it were legendary Pokémon that fought each other?"

"You're right," answered the old man, nodding.

"Did really all of them die," asked Bonnie again.

"It seems that you suffer a lot with those humans, but I fear that all of them died quickly after those events," responded the white-haired man, looking thoughtfully to a window, where hundreds of raindrops hit the glass.

"According to your story, this energy source is still somewhere on the planet, so why - - -," asked Clemont before he was interrupted by a shocked Serena.

"Where are my Pofflés," exclaimed Serena, looking desperately around for her baking.

Everyone was confused why the girl acted like that, but she soon believed that she knew who was behind the missing of her Pokémon snacks. "Clemont, did your Chespin eat all of my Pofflés again," blamed Serena the boy.

"Uh," retorted Clemont before he looked to his pocket. "It wasn't him, Serena! Really! Look, he's still in his Pokéball."

Indeed, the grass-type hadn't left its ball since they entered the house.

That was strange and everyone looked around to find the Pofflés, without much success.

"It seems that the storm won't stop until morning, so you should use the time to rest ," said the elderly unexpectedly before he stood up to walk to the exit of the room.

"I still have many questions and …," said Ash, but their host already left the room.

Ash would need to put his burning questions on ice and like the man said, the storm sill blew heavily and the rain turned into a downpour. It was still the best idea to spend the night in the house, rather than wander through the storm in search of a Pokémon centre.

Walking through the floor, the old man aimed unerringly for a spot where he just stopped to take a huge breath and to sigh. Crossing his arms, he looked down to a corner, where he saw the silhouette of a person that seemingly sat on the ground, with his back to the wall.

"Did you think that I wouldn't notice it," asked the old man.

There wasn't a response though.

"How often did I tell you that you shouldn't take away things that doesn't belong to you," scolded the elderly an unknown individual, but he made sure that he wasn't loud enough to be heard by any of his guests.

"Thousand, two-hundred and fifty times …," answered a young-sounding voice.

"If you know it, you should also know that stealing is a bad characteristic," explained the man strictly.

"I know, uncle Sato," responded the voice humbly.

"Give me the little basket," demanded Sato, which was the short version of Satomato.

Without resistance, the kid handed the object to his uncle.

"As a punishment, you'll cut firewood tomorrow, but you'll only carry ten pieces at once! Do you understand," asked the uncle with a very strict voice.

"Understood," replied the nephew.

"By the way, this baking is for Pokémon, so you wouldn't have liked it anyway," explained the uncle.

Throwing a last glance of disappointment at his nephew, Sato took the basket before he walked back to the living room, where his guests were. During the whole interaction, the nephew hadn't moved much and he remained in his sitting position. Eventually, however, he looked to two Pofflés in his hands that he hadn't returned to his uncle.

In front of the chimney, Ash, Serena, Bonnie and Clemont rolled out their sleeping bags in order to spend the night when Sato reentered the room with Serena's missing belonging.

"Oh, that are my Pofflés," noted Serena before she went quickly to the host to take the basket. "Where have they been?"

"It was just a ghost Pokémon that behaves mischievously in my house," answered Sato.

"A … a … a ghost," repeated a pale Serena, shivering.

"You don't need to worry about it. It won't make you any trouble during the night," assured Sato before he noted, "There's a guest room at the end of the corridor that you and the little girl can use for the night."

" … I think I might want to stay here with my friends … uh … it's so comfortable in front of the chimney," explained Serena after she looked past Sato and into the dark corridor behind.

"It was just an offer," replied Sato before he walked through the house again to make sure that every window was closed during the night.

"Why didn't you accept the offer," asked Bonnie, clueless.

"Well … it wouldn't be fair to have a room while Ash and Clemont have to sleep in their sleeping bags," explained Serena uneasily and unnoticed, she pushed her sleeping bag closer to the one of Ash, who still talked with Clemont.

"Hey, Serena," exclaimed Ash, who startled Serena with his words and she became slightly red in the face. "How I see you got your Poké Puffs back."

"Oh yeah …," replied a relieved Serena. "A small Pokémon took them away that lives in the house."

"Really? What kind of Pokémon is it," asked Ash, who didn't receive an answer. "Maybe, Sato can show it to me."

When the raven-haired boy wanted to go, he was hold back by Serena, who hold on his sleeve.

With a puzzled expression on his face, Ash looked at Serena and the girl seemed to be afraid.

"Please, don't go," said Serena pleadingly. "Uh … I mean … can't this wait until tomorrow. I'm sure that Sato wants to go to bed and we shouldn't bother him anymore."

"I guess, you could be right about that," replied Ash and he returned to his sleeping back to sat down on it. As soon as he was on the ground, he already let out a yawn that immediately infected the rest of his group.

The storm still tore through the forest and evening had turned into night.

With the crackling fire behind them, the group had laid down for sleeping and while Bonnie slept in rather quickly, the remaining three stayed awake for a few more minutes. Crossing his arms behind his head, Ash looked to the ceiling before he said, "I can't stop to think about this legend."

"It's just a myth, Ash," replied Clemont. "There's no chance that something like that happened without leaving any evidences."

"Oh well? I can't tell you how many legends have become reality," responded Ash convincingly.

Serena's amazement for Ash's conviction caused her to side with him in this debate. "It sounds incredible to believe it, but anything can happen, can't it?"

"Of course," replied Ash, giving Serena a smile and she smiled weakly back.

"Whatever, we should sleep now to be rested enough for tomorrow morning," suggested Clemont and after everyone wished everyone a good night, the group drifted off to sleep despite the howling wind and bickering rain.

* * *

By next morning, the storm had ended and besides a few broken branches, it didn't cause too much damage in the forest. There were a lot of puddles on the road and ways, but with the sun shining brightly, they would surely disappear quickly.

Ash stretched his arms after the sun woke him up and he felt very refreshed.

"I haven't slept that well in a long time," said the boy.

Serena rubbed her eyes to get rid of the remaining tiredness before she took her belongings to the bathroom to fresh herself up. After the usual morning routine, the group kneeled at the table of the living room, where Sato had prepared breakfast for them.

"All of it looks delicious," noted Clemont.

"You can eat as much as you want," allowed Sato and more and more, the elderly became almost the perfect host. In Ash's case, you didn't need to tell him twice to eat as much as he wanted.

After Bonnie gave Dedenne a cracker, she had a question. "Excuse me, but do you live alone in this house?"

Nobody had thought much about this, but after Bonnie's question, it became interesting to think about it. After all, Satomato had a lot of firewood and he had to take care of this huge house, which shouldn't be easy for a man in his age.

"I live on my own," answered Satomato easily.

"You have to be in great shape to take care of the whole house," noted Serena, nipping from her tea.

"Your age shouldn't limit you in anything," explained the elderly.

Ash could only agree with this, but actually, he was too busy to try everything in front of him. Serena then handed out some of her Pofflés to the Pokémon of her group and after everyone was replete, Ash and the others put their things together before it was time to thank Sato for his hostility.

In front of the wooden house, Ash's group was ready to leave.

"I can't thank you enough for everything you did for us," said Ash honestly.

"We, too," said Serena and Bonnie.

"It was a pleasure to have such young guests and I hope that you'll be safe on your way to the next village," responded Sato. "You should reach the closest Pokémon centre in about two hours."

Bonnie had this weird feeling that they were watched by someone, but the small girl shrugged it off.

After the goodbyes, Ash's group continued their way.

Reentering the house, Sato heard how someone dashed down the stairs and to the back door. Perhaps, there was someone, who had watched the goodbye scene, but when the backdoor was opened, Sato heard the voice of his nephew.

"Uncle, I'll cut the firewood now. See you later."

Immediately thereafter, the door was closed and Sato shook slowly his head, although he had signs of a smile on his face.

There was an almost endless forest behind the house and the storm had left visible scars during last night, but all of them would eventually heal. With raindrops dropping down as dew from the leafs, it was a beautiful morning and Fletchling's chirped loudly.

After he walked straight through the woods, Sato's nephew eventually reached a clearing where he was soon welcomed by two Pokémon.

"There you are," he said, relieved. "I hope you found a good shelter during yesterday's storm."

The two fox-like Pokémon shook themselves and their fur to get rid of the remaining water, but they squealed loudly thereafter. Seemingly, those two had waited eagerly for the boy and for their surprise, he even had something for them.

"It's not much, but I think you'll like it."

With those words, he took the two Pofflés out of his jacket to give them to the Pokémon. Inspecting the unknown good, they were not sure what to think about it, but eventually, they tried it and loved it even more. Satisfied, the boy looked on how those two shone with happiness.

Suddenly, several bird Pokémon left the forest towards the sky.

Something was in the air …

* * *

"Oh, wait," exclaimed Ash shockingly, stopping right on tracks. "I wanted to ask Sato which Pokémon helped the humans in this legend."

"I guess, you missed your chance," noted Serena.

Unfortunately, Serena was right, because they couldn't just walk back to the house to ask such a random question. Despite his curiosity, Ash decided not to go back and their would perhaps be other opportunities to learn more about the past.

"I hope we'll be spared from forces of nature, like this storm, for the time being," said Clemont, not knowing what would happen next.

As on a clue, the earth started to shake and thousand of flying Pokémon left their shelter in the crowns of the trees to get out of harm's way. Becoming continuously stronger, the quake brought Serena out of balance and the girl clang to Ash's shirt to stay on her feet.

Clemont put his arms around his sister to make sure that she was okay. "What's going on? This area isn't known for earthquakes at all!"

However, as quick as this earthquake appeared, it ended again and shortly thereafter, it seemed as if nothing happened at all.

"Is it over," said Serena fearfully.

"Uh, Serena? You can let me go now," said Ash to Serena, who hugged him firmly.

Releasing him from her grip, Serena turned away to cover her increasing blush with her hands. "Sorry, Ash! This earthquake just scared me to death!"

"It's just important that all of us are okay," explained Ash before he looked to Pikachu on his shoulder.

Strangely enough, the rodent seemed to be rather absent, facing the same direction all the time.

"Pikachu? Pikachu," said Ash loudly and finally, his Pokémon woke up from its trance. Shaking its head, the electro-mouse didn't know exactly what happened to him and he was as clueless as his trainer at this point.

"It seems to be over," said Clemont. "It wasn't all too strong and not very long, but it's still a mystery to me why this earthquake happened."

"Do you think there will be more of it," asked Bonnie fearfully.

"I don't know …," replied her brother. "Anyway, we should reach the Pokémon centre. I'm sure we'll get some answers there."

"I hope that nothing happened to Sato," exclaimed Ash worriedly. "Should we go back to look for him?"

It wasn't easy to decide, but eventually, Serena was the one who said, "We should split up! Clemont, you and Bonnie should go to the Pokémon centre to learn what happened and Ash and I will go back to check on uncle Sato."

"Are you sure," asked Clemont.

"I think it's the best we can do at this point," agreed Ash with Serena.

Agreeing to meet at the Pokémon centre later in the day, the two teams went their separate ways, but they were much faster than before. Running back to the house, Ash and Serena almost ran out of breath, but they just worried too much to walk slower.

Eventually, Serena's stamina wasn't as good as Ash's, but the boy noticed this and ran as fast as the girl, so she could keep pace with him.

"Serena, are you okay," asked Ash, concerned.

"I'm fine, Ash …," responded Serena, noticing that she slowed Ash down. "You … you don't need to slow down, because of me. Go ahead and look for him."

Ash just smiled at her and gave her a straight answer.

"You don't slow me down, Serena, and besides, if another earthquake happens, I want to know that you're not alone."

To hear such caring words from him caused Serena to be flattered. Without any words needed, she just nodded in agreement and together, they aimed for the wooden house that might have received some damages during the quake.

Most Pokémon around them were still resentful after the event. There were groups of Rattatas that wandered through the forest, bug Pokémon clang to the branches of trees and many Pokémon just looked to the same spot, Pikachu had looked to during his trance.

Finally, the two teens reached the house and boy, it didn't look good or bad.

Slamming against the door, Ash knocked loudly on it and he shouted, "Uncle Sato! Is everything okay?"

There wasn't an answer though and Ash feared that might something terrible happened. Continuing with his attempts to get an answer from the elderly, Ash hit the door several times until his fists hurt too much.

"Maybe, there's another entrance," suggested Serena and started to walk around the house in search for an additional door. Eventually, she found the back door and fortunately, it was even open, so Serena shouted, "Ash, we can enter through the back door!"

Running to her, Ash pushed the door open to enter the house.

Calling for Sato, Ash ran straight through the house, but eventually, he found the old man at the stairs, leaning against the wall.

"What are you doing here," questioned Sato sternly, not having expected to see Ash and Serena again that soon. After the earthquake, chairs laid on the ground, several pictures had fallen down from the walls and even whole bookshelves were tossed to the ground.

"We just worried for your safety," explained Ash, checking on Sato.

"You don't have to worry! This quake just surprised me when I walked down the stairs," explained Satomato, suppressing the pain that he felt at the moment. However, it became obvious that the old man was hurt and Ash tried to help Sato up to bring him to a bed or something.

Serena looked worriedly around, trying to figure out what she could do to help.

* * *

Clemont and Bonnie ran as fast as they could and after a long run, they finally spotted the familiar Pokéball logo on top of the Pokémon centre. Like usual, Clemont could almost not keep up with his sister's pace and he had to stop to catch his breath.

"Clemont, you're just too slow," fumed Bonnie at her brother.

"I just can't go on," said Clemont being completely out of breath, but when he looked to the Pokémon centre, he saw that already dozens of trainers gathered in front of it and within it.

Bonnie quickly dashed to the group and pulled on some trainer's sleeve.

Looking down to the girl, the teenage girl wondered what she wanted.

"Excuse me, but can you tell me what happened," asked Bonnie pleadingly.

Apparently, the teenager, with long green hair, fought with the decision whether to tell Bonnie about it or not. Eventually, she kneeled down to the blonde girl, just when Clemont caught up with her.

" … *panting* … I'm sorry if my sister annoyed you or anything," apologized Clemont already.

"Are you her brother then," asked the green-haired Ace trainer.

"Yes I am, but why are all those trainers here? Are there Pokémon hurt," asked Clemont unknowingly.

"You haven't heard about it yet, huh," asked the female Ace trainer. "Well .. There has been a very strong earthquake in front of the north coast … and … a tsunami almost destroyed the whole coastline …"

* * *

 **End of chapter!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon**

 **Enjoy the chapter**

 **/ Chapter 2: Just the first of many /**

* * *

The news of the catastrophe shocked Clemont and his sister, and especially Bonnie couldn't believe the words of the Ace trainer at first. After some seconds to assimilate the information, Clemont asked, "Are you really sure about that? We are almost seventy miles away from the coast and we still were hit by this earthquake."

"Believe me I would be glad if I was wrong," answered the green-haired girl. "Everyone's shocked just like you."

"Clemont," said Bonnie worriedly and pulled on her brother's sleeve. "Wasn't the tower of mastery at the north coast? What happened to Korrina, Lucario and Gurkinn?"

"I don't know …," replied an unsure Clemont. "It's not just them though … Sycamore's summer camp was also at that coast."

Suddenly, they felt how the ground started to shake again and everyone already feared that it started all over again, but this time, the quake only lasted two seconds and was noticeably weaker than the last. Now, the crowd in front of the centre started to become restless and the idea spread around that more of those quakes could happen.

Bonnie hold on her brother for dear life and Clemont tried everything to comfort his younger sibling, saying, "Don't worry, Bonnie! This was just an aftershock and they are always weaker than the main earthquake."

The female Ace trainer said to no one in particular, "I have a bad feeling about that."

After a while, Bonnie calmed down, but then, she noticed how her Dedenne looked out of her shoulder bag, facing tensely the north. Just like Pikachu, the hamster was almost in a trance and Bonnie took her Pokémon out of the bag to say, "Dedenne, what's with you?"

Bonnie's words got it out of its trance and the hamster just didn't know what was wrong.

Clemont looked back to the road and said, "Ash … Serena … I hope that you're okay."

"Should we go to them," asked Bonnie unsurely.

"Well, we agreed to meet here and I'm still completely exhausted," explained Clemont, looking to the ground. "I know Ash and he's not that kind of person, who's easily overwhelmed by such a situation. We'll wait until this evening for them."

"Okay …," said Bonnie, trusting Ash and Serena as well.

"If I understood correctly, you'll stay here for the time being, right," asked the female Ace trainer and after Clemont affirmed it, she said, "There are some trainers and Pokémon that weren't as lucky as we were and they need help. Obviously, nurse Joy can't care for everyone at once and it's up to us to help."

To use their time for the best, Clemont and Bonnie started to help the injured Pokémon.

* * *

Just when Ash helped Sato to the couch, the house was hit by the aftershock; however, it didn't cause any damage this time.

"Another earthquake," asked Serena worriedly.

"It was weaker than the first one, therefore, I guess it was an aftershock," said Sato, who also tried to clarify to Ash that he didn't need to be mothered by him.

Serena folded her hands together and said, "I hope Clemont and Bonnie are safe …"

Now, Ash noticed that Sato was in pain and the raven-haired trainer quickly spotted that the old man's foot was engorged. Turning around to Serena, Ash requested, "Serena, can you please go to the bathroom and get a wet towel? I fear Sato has sprained his ankle."

"How often do I need to tell you that I'm fine," complained Sato, not wanting that Ash and the girl sacrificed their time for him.

"Don't move," said Ash with convincing eyes. "You helped us during last evening and we'll help you now. That's the least we can do. Serena, could you please?"

Nodding, Serena went to the bathroom to get the towel before she gave it to Ash.

When Ash put it around the ankle, Serena stood behind him, but she suddenly heard how the backdoor opened. Looking to it, she only saw how it reeled, but there was nothing and the brunette was slightly confused.

After they also bandaged Sato's ankle, Ash and Serena also wanted to clean up the house and prepare something to eat for the old man, but Sato said, "That's enough, you two! You don't need to do everything for me."

"We just wanted …," explained Ash.

"I appreciate your effort, but you should really go back to your other friends," said Sato, taking a cane next from his couch. "I'll be okay on my own."

Seeing the worried eyes of the kids, Sato sighed before he said, "If I need your help, I'll phone the Pokémon centre and I give you my phone number as well."

Seemingly, this was enough to convince Ash to leave for now and after they got the number, Ash and Serena walked to the entrance door. Meanwhile, it had become early afternoon and the sun stood at its highest point.

"Don't forget to call us," reminded Ash the old man.

Slightly annoyed, Sato agreed and eventually, Serena and Ash left the house on their way to the Pokémon centre to catch up with Clemont and Bonnie.

Just when the two teens left the house through the front door, another individual entered the house through the back door and after he assured himself that the other two kids were gone, he already checked on his uncle, who was slightly surprised to see his nephew only now.

"How are you, uncle," asked the boy.

"Don't start to mother me as if I were a baby," said Sato, annoyed. "How does it come that you didn't come back earlier?"

"I was," answered the nephew. "However, your two guests already cared for you and you always told me that I shouldn't show myself to everyone."

"I don't think that would have been necessary. Those two and their friends are some of the nicest people ever and they are by no means bad for anyone," explained the uncle his thoughts.

The boy thought about it, but there were also other questions on his mind. "Uncle, do you need something?"

"I'm fine," replied Sato, supporting himself with his cane. "You can perhaps put the bookshelves back up though and look if the roof wasn't damaged. I can't put a finger on it, but somehow, I doubt that this will be the last disaster, however we'll survive it just like everything else that happened in the past, right nephew?"

Just when the boy took a book off the ground, he became thoughtful, because there was something different from the past.

"Uncle," he said unsurely.

Sato was confused by this tone of his nephew.

"I don't know how to explain it," he said, looking for the right words. "During the earthquake, I had this feeling … as if something awakened in the distance … it was strange, because it felt familiar somehow …"

Sato stopped completely, looking into space for a few moments.

"I think you just imagined something," said Sato convincingly, but deep down, he hoped that this was the case.

* * *

With Ash and Serena on their way to Clemont and Bonnie, they turned several times around due to their worry for the elderly. There were still dozes of Pokémon in the woods that faced worriedly the north, but fortunately, there hadn't been another aftershock so far.

"Do you think it's okay," asked Serena, looking to Ash.

"It's his wish," answered Ash before he tried to change the topic. "Anyway, we need to get to Clemont and Bonnie. Hopefully, they could get some information about the earthquake."

Serena could read Ash's expression and she knew that he was tensed up by the situation and she couldn't blame him, because she was it as well. Thinking about some words to cheer him up, Serena walked silently past Ash until she said, "I'm glad that you're okay, Ash."

"Uh … what," replied Ash, being slightly caught off guard.

"I mean … it could have been worse, you know," explained she, although she noticed how bad she was at cheering someone up.

" … I'm glad as well that you're okay, Serena," responded Ash. " … we don't know how bad it really is though. It are those things that I don't know that scare me the most …"

Serena could comprehend Ash's worries all too well.

After they managed about half the way to the Pokémon centre, Ash and Serena reached a flower field that was on their left side. It was a beautiful sight, but Serena only admired the flowers silently, knowing that there wasn't time to enjoy it for too long.

Strangely enough, Serena crossed her arms.

"What's wrong," asked Ash.

"I don't know …," replied the brunette. "I suddenly feel cold …"

Indeed, it was rather cold at the moment and even a cold north breeze blew across the road that could have been from a winter month. Moreover, the breeze became continuously stronger and Serena froze heavily, especially with her short clothes.

Pikachu's ears twitched when he heard the noise of cracking wood from the forest.

Unexpectedly, something came out of the woods next to Serena and the girl couldn't even look as fast as the creature approached her. Out f reflex, Ash took Serena by the hand and pulled her quickly to him, with so much force that both of them fell to the ground.

It was rescue at last second, because the Pokémon didn't even slow down at all.

Laying on the ground, Ash saw how a familiar Pokémon past them.

It was Suicune and the legendary Pokémon was surrounded by a polar wind that followed it.

Suicune didn't even notice the kids and it just went quickly across the flower field until it disappeared in the forest again. After this event, the cold wind disappeared as well and soon, it seemed as if nothing happened at all.

"Serena, is everything alright," asked Ash.

The girl laid with her face on Ash's chest and when she lifted it, she became quite red in the face before she rolled down from Ash to look away. "Thanks to you I am," she answered shortly thereafter.

Pikachu looked still into the direction into which Suicune disappeared.

"I can't believe that a Suicune is here," said Ash bewildered after he sat up on the ground.

"What's a Suicune," asked Serena, confused despite being still red.

"It's a legendary Pokémon that's common in the Jotho region, although it rarely shows up in other regions as well," explained Ash coherently and he took Serena's hat off the ground that had dropped down during the incident. "Here's your hat."

"Oh, Thank you," said Serena and took the hat. After she put it on, she turned once again away and placed her palms on her cheeks, being torn apart between her feelings.

"There was something else as well," noted Ash, standing up. "I could see in Suicune's eyes that it was after something …"

After Serena could put two and two together again, she asked aloud, "What do you mean with it was after something?"

"It was focused on something," said Ash before he turned to Serena again. "Maybe I'm just overreacting."

Actually, Ash wasn't the only one to feel that way, because Pikachu sensed that the fellow Pokémon was on its way to a certain spot. Anyway, the group spent a few minutes at this location to recover from this event before they continued their way, without asking any more questions.

Eventually, they reached the Pokémon centre and at the moment, just a few trainers stood in front of it.

"We're there," said Ash, looking around in search for Clemont and Bonnie.

Not wasting time, they entered the Pokémon centre where they spotted a green-haired teenage girl, who just doctored a Cubone on the counter.

"Excuse me," said Ash politely. "We're looking for our two blonde-haired friends; a little girl and her older brother. Have you seen them?"

The Ace trainer was slightly surprised to be again spoken to by someone, but she quickly knew who Ash looked for. "You two are surely those who the siblings waited for," said the girl and turned around to the corridor to shout, "Clemont! Bonnie! Your two friends are here."

Quickly, the two Lumiose city natives came out of another room to welcome their friends.

Hugging Serena, Bonnie was glad that nothing happened to her.

"What luck that you're okay," explained Clemont, sighing.

It was time to catch though.

"Clemont, did you learn something about this earthquake," asked Ash impatiently.

In a blink of an eye, Clemont became very silent and he knew that the news weren't good ones. After he told his friends to take a seat in a lounge, Clemont tried to find the right words to explain the catastrophe to Ash and Serena. Bonnie's eyes were full of uneasiness at the moment.

"This earthquake … its centre was in front of the north coast … it caused a tsunami and … it hit the coastline hard," explained Clemont, swallowing almost every word.

"Oh no," whispered Serena, folding her hands together in front of her face.

Ash was speechless for a few seconds before he dared to ask, "What's with Shalour city, the tower of mastery, Korrina and the others …"

"We don't know," replied Clemont, feeling bad.

There were some minutes of silence, where nobody wanted to assume bad things.

Almost not daring, Bonnie pulled on Serena's arm and the brunette looked sadly to the little girl.

"Serena," said Bonnie quietly. "What's with Sato? Is he okay?"

"He's okay," assured Serena with a weak smile. "He just sprained his ankle a little during the quake, but we already bandaged it when we were there. If you feel better, we can also call him later on. He gave us his phone number."

Bonnie nodded, sniffing.

* * *

After some hours without another aftershock, afternoon turned into evening and the sun started to set.

Sato just made a fire in the chimney again before he saw a picture next to the chimney that seemingly had dropped down during the quake. Supporting himself with the cane, the elderly took the picture of the ground that showed a young married couple.

Unnoticed, Sato's nephew spied through the gap between door and doorframe before he sneaked out through the backdoor and into the forest.

Walking to the familiar spot, he looked worriedly around before he was found by two Pokémon.

"It's great to see that you're okay," said the boy, kneeling down to his friends to caress their fur.

One of them was a Glaceon that had very bright fur, dark blue paws and an icy aura around it. For many, it wouldn't look like a wild Pokémon, despite being one at the moment.

The second one of them evolved from an Eevee as well, because it was a Flareon with light brown fur and a very cozy mane and tail. One of its characteristics seemed to be to like to cuddle, because the fire-type almost pushed the boy to the ground with her antics. Actually, Glaceon wasn't much different.

"Please, stop! You're tickling me," said the brown-haired boy.

Back in the house, Sato sat on his armchair, walking down memory lane with the noise of spiting fire from the chimney. Completely lost in his thoughts, he relived the good old times with a friend that had been very close to him.

His thoughts were interrupted though when someone knocked on the door.

Taking his cane, Sato walked slowly to the entrance door.

"Are that the kids again," wondered Sato silently.

Again, someone knocked on the door. "Yes, of course! I'm coming," said Sato loudly.

When he opened the door, he didn't spot Ash's group, but rather several grown men that stood in front of his house. Apparently, they drove with a black jeep to him, which was parked on the road behinds those men.

With his quick eyes, Sato assumed that all of them were in their mid-twenties.

"You're Satomato, aren't you," asked the man strictly yet formally, who stood right in front of Sato.

"Who wants to know that," asked Sato harshly.

"My name's irrelevant, old man, but it's just important that my boss would like to ask you some questions," said the man, who was seemingly the leader of his group. Being six feet tall, he was of normal built, with oily, short and red hair, grey eyes, clean-shaven and a bright-minded expression in his face. Just like the other men, he wore a uniform that consisted of a black trouser, a black suit coat and a red shirt.

Sato didn't trust them one meter and he just smashed the door, however, it was blocked by a foot.

Reopening the door with force, the red-haired man jut continued to speak, "I have to request that you come with us to tell our boss everything about the ´legend of the ultimate power."

Now, Sato knew what they wanted, but he just pretended, "I don't know what you're talking about, and besides, shouldn't you be old enough to know that legends aren't true?"

"Please, don't insult my intelligence, doter," said the redhead strictly. "We know more about it than you can imagine."

Kicking Sato's cane away, the redhead looked on how Sato dropped onto his knees, holding his ankle.

"In the end, you're just an old man, although I hoped that you would have been more cooperative, guardian of the legend," said the leader, calling Sato by a title that he hadn't heard in ages.

Staring at the man, Sato realized that those men didn't mean any good.

"Get him," ordered the redhead the remaining individuals.

They immediately took Sato by his arms and dragged him across the ground to the car, ignoring that Sato's ankle was negatively affected by this. Despite some efforts to fight against them, Sato was completely outnumbered.

"It surprised me that you didn't notice it," said the redhead.

Sato looked over his shoulder to the young man, not knowing what the guy meant with his words.

"It's back," said the leader. "The ultimate power."

Sato's eyes were full of shock until he shouted, "You don't even know what you're talking about!"

"That remains to be seen," said the redhead, smirking devilishly.

Eventually, the group of men dragged Sato all the way to the jeep and he hoped dearly that nothing of it was true what they told him. Unfortunately, he slowly but surely, feared that all his hope was indeed just that, nothing more.

"At least, he's not here," whispered Sato silently.

"What are you doing to my uncle," said someone unexpectedly.

Sato didn't want to believe his ears and when he looked around, he saw how his nephew stood in front of the entrance door, with pure disbelieve in his eyes. The other men weren't startled at all, because they just saw a kid that wasn't dangerous to them.

The kid was perhaps five feet tall, was slightly athletic and seemed to be in good shape. He had medium-long, messy and brown hair that he put in a ponytail at the back of his neck. Wearing just black trousers and a white shirt, he didn't look like the richest person.

It was interesting though, that he had tri-colored eyes, consisting of blue, grey and green.

"You have a nephew, huh," said the redhead to Sato. "Interesting."

Sato grunted towards the leading man.

"We just invited your uncle to a meeting," lied the redhead easily.

The brown-haired boy looked to his uncle and to him, Sato was everything, but invited. "Uncle, what's going on," asked the boy unsurely.

"I'm fine," assured Sato. "Go back into the house! I'll soon be back."

"Don't lie to me," demanded the nephew. "Nothing is fine! I see that they drag you away against your will! Who are those guys and what do they want from you!"

Meanwhile, the sun had disappeared behind the horizon and only the moon's light lighted up the surroundings. Like the sun, the patience of the redhead also seemed to have disappeared and he motioned to his partners to get Sato into the car.

The boy wanted to take a step towards his uncle.

"Don't come closer," shouted Sato angrily. "I'll manage it! Just go back!"

Shaking his head, the boy's eyes slightly watered up, refusing to go back. "No, uncle … You know that I can take care of them and - - -"

"I FORBAD IT," shouted Sato with an angry voice, startling his nephew with this tone.

Obviously, the nephew just didn't want to let the scene in front of him happen. Every time he tried to take a step, he was met by his uncle's eyes that just wouldn't allow him to ignore his demands.

Not being touched by this scene at all, the red-haired man took a Pokéball from his pocket and called one of his Pokémon that materialized in front of the boy. It appeared an unusual tall Machamp that was close to seven feet tall, with muscles as hard as stones and a terrible glance in its eyes.

"My nephew is not a trainer! Let him go," yelled Sato at the redhead.

Sato's nephew looked with questioning yet unsure eyes to his uncle, wanting to get permission.

"Please, just go back! I won't forgive you if you use it," threatened Sato desperately to the chuckling of some of the surrounding man, who laughed at him for sobbing a little.

"What are you talking about," asked the redhead, but he didn't get an answer. When he looked at the boy again, he was met by almost a death glare that apparently provoked him extremely.

With a vein appearing on his forehead, the redhead simply said, "Machamp, Dynamic Punch with full power."

Machamp's hands started to glow and the Pokémon raised his hands.

"STOP WITH IT! HE'S JUST A CHILD," screamed Sato towards the redhead, but the man just smirked.

The boy wanted to lift his hand, but when he looked at his uncle, he just couldn't do it.

Seconds later, Machamp punched with his two right hands into the boy's belly and ribcage, lifting the boy's feet off the ground until the force of the punch pushed him through the air. Spitting blood out of his mouth, he was shot back and through the wooden wall of his uncle's house and even further.

"DAVID," screamed Sato desperately before the men around him forced him into the car.

Looking back one last time, the redhead looked indifferent to the house before he recalled his Machamp and took a seat in the car. Shortly thereafter, the jeep drove away, leaving the scene.

There was a huge hole in the wall of the house and a cloud of dust enveloped the inner of the building. Multiple wooden parts of the house were scattered on the floor that eventually leaded to the back wall of the building that didn't look much better.

* * *

In the Pokémon centre, Ash and his friends hesitantly ate dinner, still thinking about the well-being of Korrina, Gurkinn and everyone else on the coast. There was a strange atmosphere among the group, but life had to go on.

Ash then stopped and looked onto a sheet of paper. "I think I'll call Sato."

Nobody could blame Ash for trying to take his mind off things by calling the elderly.

Serena just looked silently into space, thinking about calling her mom to tell her that she was okay.

After some time, Ash returned to the table and said, "For some reason, Sato didn't answer my call …"

"It's possible that he's sleeping already or perhaps, he's doing something else where he can't hear his phone," suggested Clemont, not wanting to make anyone nervous. "There hasn't been another earthquake so far, therefore I doubt that something happened to him."

"After all, he told us not to overreact," added Serena.

"I guess, you're right," replied Ash , convinced. "I'll try again tomorrow morning."

After the dinner, the group went to bed, hoping to get a snatch of sleep.

* * *

Flying through the cloudy sky of the night, a Pokémon floated continuously over an ocean that separated the regions of the world. Without making any noises, it flew even over the clouds to see the light of the moon and stars.

Deep down it knew that it would perhaps be the beginning of the end.

* * *

 **End of chapter!**


End file.
